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Four new fact sheets on contract grazing for cattle are now available on the Iowa Beef Center website. The series was developed by a specialized working group within the Green Lands, Blue Water project, including two Iowa State University specialists.

Bare-root plants begin their life growing in a nursery field and are harvested in the fall, when all of the soil is shaken from their roots. Horticulturists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach explain the advantages and disadvantages.

Celebrate the arrival of spring with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the University of Nebraska Extension during the three-day 2013 Siouxland Garden Show on March 22–24 at the Sioux City Convention Center. The Siouxland Garden Show is a one-stop shopping and educational extravaganza for everything related to lawns and gardens.

Americans are being encouraged to personalize their eating style during National Nutrition Month. This campaign from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics focuses on making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

Finding new employees for a food or agricultural business has just gotten easier. At no cost, members of the MarketMaker website can use the new employment opportunities feature to post a new job opening and see it advertised nationally.

With food, entertainment and more than 125 auction packages, the Iowa 4-H Foundation's Fourth Annual Gala, presented by John Deere, raised $92,000 to support the Iowa 4-H program statewide and at the club level. Even some 4-H youth played a role in reaching this amount.

To see if nonpoint source loan programs were making a difference, Iowa Clean Water State Revolving Fund staff contacted Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to help conduct an evaluation. Extension sociologist J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr. led the research team and results of the study have been published.

Iowa Learning Farms, along with Practical Farmers of Iowa, will host a field day on Thursday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Kent Swanson farm, rural Red Oak. The field day will focus on cover crop management and use for grazing and forage production, erosion control and soil health.

Iowa Learning Farms will host a field day, along with Practical Farmers of Iowa, on Tuesday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the American Legion in Dedham. The field day will focus on cover crops and no-till systems for erosion control and soil health and includes a visit to the Mike Sporrer farm, rural Dedham.

Early spring is a great time for amending the garden soil, and getting it prepared for the upcoming growing season. Horticulturists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach talk about changes to soil pH when adding ashes and lime to gardens, soil core aerification and soil testing.

Gardeners can learn how to start annual flowers and vegetables at home and to enjoy them earlier in the growing season with Starting Garden Transplants at Home (PM 0874), an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publication.

Daniel Barker, assistant scientist with the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, will discuss nitrogen sensing technology during the Iowa Learning Farms’ free monthly webinar, Wednesday, March 20 at 11:30 a.m. A computer with Internet access is all that is needed to participate.

Iowa Learning Farms will host a cover crops workshop, along with the Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Practical Farmers of Iowa, on Thursday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Buzzy’s Pizza in Welton. The workshop will focus on cover crops for feed, soil and nutrient management.

Iowa Learning Farms will host a field day, along with Practical Farmers of Iowa, on Friday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Black Hawk Marsh State Game Management Area, Lake View. The field day will focus on cover management.

Iowans will have a chance to form partnerships and network with other local food enthusiasts at an upcoming conference, “Road Map for Resilience: Empowering Iowa’s Local Food Economy,” at the ISU Scheman Building on March 19-20.

A field day focusing on cover crops for row crop systems will be held Tuesday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Dustin Kaestner farm near Luzerne. The field day site is located at Kaestner Seeds, 7381 16th Ave., Luzerne. The event is free, open to the public and includes a complimentary lunch.